The present invention is directed to the field of non-woven fabrics, in general, and is directed to a single layer non-woven fabric suitable for use as a cotton bale covering having high strength and resistance to tears and abrasion, in particular. The fabric of the present invention can be produced at a rate faster than woven products and without the contamination problems encountered with products manufactured from woven products and especially those using polymeric yarns. The present invention is also directed to a process for producing such a non-woven fabric.
For many years, the cotton industry has sought a solution to the problem of wrapping cotton bales to protect the bales from contamination and damage during shipping. Some wraps commonly used are jute or burlap. These have the disadvantage of being loosely woven, admitting contaminants into the cotton bale, and are susceptible to tears, rips and holes that expose the wrapped cotton to contamination during storage and shipping.
Other wraps include woven polypropylene, the predominate bale wrapping material. These wraps, however, fibrillate in use, the polypropylene strands becoming closely entwined with the raw cotton and thereby contaminating it. Such contamination cannot be separated, and is extremely difficult to detect in raw fiber. Moreover, polypropylene wraps are not biodegradable or recyclable and have few end uses. An example of this type of woven wrap is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,557,958 (Barkis) wherein woven polypropylene or polyethylene fabric is infused with a series of stripes of thermoplastic resin to prevent fraying when the fabric is cut.
Non-woven cotton bale covers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,647,139 (Manasian) and U.S. Pat. No. 3,647,061 (Kaupin).
The Manasian cotton bale cover is a bonded laminate of knitted filament net sandwiched between one layer of woven cotton fabric and a second layer of non-woven cotton fabric. The layers are bonded by adhesive. The Kaupin cotton bale cover is also a bonded laminate of three layers of material, wherein a layer of net is sandwiched between an inner layer of non-woven cotton and an outer layer of non-woven paper, such as embossed paper toweling. The three layers of the laminate are adhered by thermoplastic material applied to the inner or outer layer before joining. These covers, however, suffer from the disadvantages of being incapable of biodegradability and also of increased cost incurred in the manufacturing of a laminate bale cover.